Asmea Presentation ppt 2017Iran-Iraq war
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The document discusses lessons from the Iran-Iraq war and analyzes cultural and organizational factors that hindered the Iraqi military's performance. It notes that Iraqi army doctrine was conditioned by national culture and subculture. Planning, decision-making, and unit leadership in the Iraqi military suffered due to issues like mistrust of NCOs, lack of education, and micro-managing by Saddam Hussein. The document argues that only long-term isolated training could potentially change Iraqi military culture, and that cultural influences shape how armies fight.
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Asmea Presentation ppt 2017Iran-Iraq war
- 1. Iran- Iraq War Lessons not Learned or Culture Rules
- 2. Bottom Line Up Front Doctrine, the guiding principles by which an army supports the national objectives will, in execution, always be conditioned by the national cultureand military subculture Thinkers and scholars may come up with imaginative doctrinal shifts but the actual changes in how we fight evolve very slowly. Nuclear strategy, active defense, air-land battle, and now counterinsurgency are all in my background. But in the artillery it has always been., shoot move and communicate.
- 3. In Perspective. The Saga of the m- 16/m-4 Critical of Iraqi Army from a cultural standpoint Necessary to put in perspective of our own Worst standard small arms weapon in the hands of any army. Why do we keep? Bureaucratic stagnation/ inertia Cultural and military hubris Denial
- 4. Historical background Individual Iraqi soldiers have always distinguished themselves as resolute soldiers but Iraq army history is an Inglorious one. British created. Optimism by the founder of the army Jafar al Askari Yezidi massacre of 1933. Co Bakr Sidqi became national hero 1941 war against Brits 1948 Palestine war the shakoo makoo army 1967 war failed to get there in time 1973 war varying opinions, Uneven at best Endless wars against Kurds. unable to subdue 1980- 1988 Iran Iraq war
- 5. The Prussians of the Arab World The Profession of Death. Militarization of society The Bedouin warlike ethos acclaimed by Saddam as the most important factor Generally armies learn more from losing than winning easy wars.. so with 6 decades of almost continual warfare why did the Iran-Iraq war end as a virtual stalemate with Iraq hurt more than Iran? Had they learned nothing?
- 6. Historical Historical chronicles from the time of the great Arab conquests depicted the Persians as effeminate and weak warriors, a view carefully cultivated by the Saddam regime applying the term Majus or fire worshippers to the Iranians. Saddam emphasized the Mesopotamian Arab culture as far superior to the Persian, especially the Bedouin warrior mentality. A belief that the Arab heritage of the Khuzistan Arabs would welcome his invasion.
- 7. Problems in Unit Leadership Mistrust of Non Commissioned Officer Corps Lack of solidarity between officer and Enlisted Mistreatment of soldiers Wholesale turnover in Officer corps with each Government change. Lack of Officer education. Faculty turnover. Mishmash of Soviet and Western doctrine Soldier training time eaten up by political indoctrination.
- 8. Security and Paranoia Went to war with many top military leaders unaware of impending conflict Throughout the war many subordinate leaders were kept in the dark as to plans of near future Subordinate commanders were given only sketchy orders, maintaining security, but requiring maximum initiative on the part of the unit commanders, a task they were culturally unable to fulfill. Had few Farsi translators because they were not trusted,
- 9. Planning Virtually none at the beginning of the war Our troops just lined upon the border and told to drive into Iran. They had an objective but no idea how to get there or what they were doing, or how their mission fit the plan, or who would be supporting them. War viewed as a tribal conflict, not modern coordination of military forces. Information as power
- 10. Decision-making and Responsibility Notoriously absent at all levels: a fear of failure. Fear, not Soviet methods explains the ponderously inflexible and ever so timid behavior of Iraqi field commanders, a continuous feature of the Iraqi performance. Micro-managing by Saddam
- 11. Politization of the Military The divide and rule policies employed by all Arab rulers was perfected by Saddam. It was in keeping with the general Arab Rulers outlook that their military is the greatest threat to his regime. Saddam exploited sectarian, religious, regional and the urbanite rural divides to maintain control The Baath political system, modeled on the Soviet system, created an atmosphere wherein officers were in a domestic prison without walls.
- 12. Extrinsic/Intrinsic Factors The installation of organizational/unit pride vs. the motivation of external rewards. Saddam used the targhib/tarhib system exclusively with his rewards and punishment administered from the top Once the ability of the regime to administer this system became apparent, the military fell apart.
- 13. Culture Changes: Lessons learned? The war against ISIS. Presages a change? U.S training making a permanent difference? How do Western trainers impose or cultivate cultural changes in the Iraqi way of war? My politically incorrect view, which also runs against the grain of the more recent military views as well, is that only a very long term hermetically sealed training environment will produce the anticipated resultsand that once the seal is broken, those results erode rapidly,
- 14. Closing Thought Peoples fight within their cultural constraints shaped by history, geographical and social environment. The trick is to devise your strategy, doctrine, way of war, etc. based on your culture not the prevalent trends. Accentuate what you do best and avoid accepting alien or unrealistic ways of war.